[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 230 (Friday, December 1, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 83893-83895]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-26482]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[231121-0275; RTID 0648-XD495]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Deep-Sea 
Red Crab Fishery; 2024-2027 Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Specifications

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed specifications; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We are proposing specifications for the 2024 Atlantic deep-sea 
red crab fishery, including an annual catch limit and total allowable 
landings limit, and projecting quotas for the 2025-2027 Atlantic deep-
sea red crab fishery. The proposed action is intended to establish the 
allowable 2024 harvest levels, consistent with the Atlantic Deep-Sea 
Red Crab Fishery Management Plan. This action is necessary to establish 
allowable red crab harvest levels that will prevent overfishing.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 2, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2023-0140, by the following method:
    Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments via 
the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal.
    1. Go to https://www.regulations.gov, and enter ``NOAA-NMFS-2023-
0140'' in the Search box;
    2. Click the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields; and
    3. Enter or attach your comments.
    Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the 
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personally identifiable 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily 
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous 
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields, if you wish to remain 
anonymous).
    Copies of the specifications document, including the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act Analysis, and other supporting documents for the 
specifications, are available from Dr. Catherine O'Keefe, Executive 
Director, New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 
2, Newburyport, MA 01950 or at https://www.nefmc.org/management-plans/red-crab. The specifications document is also accessible via the 
internet at:https://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allison Murphy, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, (978) 281-9122.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Atlantic deep-sea red crab fishery is managed by the New 
England Fishery Management Council (Council). The Atlantic Deep-Sea Red 
Crab Fishery Management Plan (FMP) includes a specification process 
that requires the Council to recommend an acceptable biological catch 
(ABC), an annual catch limit (ACL), and total allowable landings (TAL) 
every four years. The Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee 
(SSC) provides a recommendation to the Council for the ABC. The Council 
makes a recommendation to NMFS that cannot exceed the ABC 
recommendation made by the SSC.
    The FMP was implemented in 2002 and was originally managed under a 
target total allowable catch (TAC) and days-at-sea (DAS) system that 
allocated DAS equally across the small fleet of limited access 
permitted vessels. Amendment 3 to the FMP removed a trip limit 
restriction, and replaced the target TAC and DAS allocation with a 
catch-limit structure consistent with the ACL and accountability 
measure requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act. Under Amendment 3 (76 FR 60379; September 29, 2011), 
the 2011-2013 red crab specifications were set with an ABC equal to the 
long-term average landings of the directed red crab fishery (3.91 
million pounds or 1,775 metric tons (mt)). These specifications were 
continued for fishing years 2014-2016 (79 FR 24356; April 30, 2014) and 
2017-2019 (82 FR 11322, February 22, 2017; 83 FR 4849, February 2, 
2018; 83 FR 66161, December 26, 2018). Specifications were increased to 
2,000 mt for fishing years 2020 through 2023 (85 FR 20615, April 14, 
2020; 86 FR 16077, March 26, 2021; 87 FR 3697, January 25, 2022; 88 FR 
788, January 5, 2023).

[[Page 83894]]

Proposed Specifications

    The biological and management reference points currently in the FMP 
are used to determine whether overfishing is occurring or if the stock 
is overfished. There is insufficient information on the species to 
establish the maximum sustainable yield, optimum yield, or overfishing 
limit (OFL). The ABC is defined in terms of landings instead of total 
catch because there is insufficient information to estimate dead 
discards of red crab.
    The Council's recommendation for the 2024-2027 red crab 
specifications is based on the results of the 2023 management track 
assessment update for the red crab fishery and the recommendations of 
the Council's SSC. The recommended specifications maintain status quo 
specifications of 4.409 million lb (2,000 mt) from fishing years 2020 
through 2023. While an OFL has not been determined for the stock, the 
Council and its SSC assert that the increased catch limit will not 
result in overfishing and adequately accounts for scientific 
uncertainty due to past performance of not exceeding past 
specifications.
    Recent landings, landings per unit of effort, port samples, discard 
information, and economic data suggest there has been no change in the 
size of the red crab stock since Amendment 3 was implemented in 2011. 
On August 10, 2023, the SSC recommended a 2,000-mt ABC for fishing 
years 2024-2027 for the directed fishery. The Council approved the 
2,000-mt ABC, ACL, and TAL on September 26, 2023. We are proposing the 
Council-recommended specifications for fishing year 2024. By providing 
projected quotas for 2025-2027, we hope to assist fishery participants 
in planning ahead.
    At the end of each fishing year, we evaluate catch information and 
determine if the quota has been exceeded. If a quota is exceeded, the 
regulations at 50 CFR 648.262(b) require a pound-for-pound reduction in 
a subsequent fishing year, through notification consistent with the 
Administrative Procedure Act. We would publish a notice in the Federal 
Register of any revisions to the projected specifications if an overage 
occurs. We expect, based on the performance of the red crab fishery 
over time, that such adjustments would be unlikely. Current fishery 
projections indicate that no adjustment would be necessary for fishing 
year 2024. We will provide notice of the final 2025-2027 quotas prior 
to the start of each respective fishing year.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 
NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is 
consistent with the Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab FMP, other provisions of 
the Act, and other applicable law, subject to further consideration 
after public comment.
    This action is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.
    The Chief Counsel for Regulation, Department of Commerce, certified 
to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration 
that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The Council 
prepared an analysis of the potential economic impacts of this action, 
which is included in the Council's document for this action (see 
ADDRESSES to obtain a copy of the supplemental information report) and 
supplemented by information contained in the preamble of this proposed 
rule. For Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) purposes only, NMFS has 
established a small business size standard for businesses, including 
their affiliates, whose primary industry is commercial fishing (see 50 
CFR part 200). A business primarily engaged in commercial fishing 
(NAICS code 11411) is classified as a small business if it is 
independently owned and operated, is not dominant in its field of 
operation (including its affiliates), and has combined annual receipts 
not in excess of $11 million for all its affiliated operations 
worldwide. The determination as to whether the entity is large or small 
is based on the average annual revenue for the three years from 2020 
through 2022.
    Due to the small size of the limited access red crab fleet (five 
permits, four active vessels) and its ownership, data regarding this 
fleet are considered confidential. However, when combined with all 
active red crab permits (limited access and open access), data are 
public and can be presented. This likely provides an overestimate on 
the scale and participation in the red crab fishery, given that the 
limited access permits comprise the vast majority of landings and, 
therefore, revenue. Under this rule and with these caveats, there are 
between 6 and 7 business entities and anywhere from 20 to 26 vessels to 
which the rule applies. Table 1 summarizes the number of affiliate 
groups, number of permits, business size, average affiliate revenue, 
and aggregated affiliate revenue for the business entities described 
above. All entities have been determined to be small entities.

                     Table 1--Regulatory Flexibility Act Affiliate Groups of Active * Red Crab Permits From Calendar Year 2020-2022
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                                                               Number of                                                                  Aggregated
                                               Number of     permits across    Small business  in previous year   Average  affiliate    affiliate group
                   Year                        affiliate     all affiliate        (all affiliate  groups)? *        group  revenue    revenues  (nominal
                                                groups           groups                                            (nominal dollars)       dollars)
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2020......................................               7               26  Yes................................           1,939,248          13,574,737
2021......................................               6               20  Yes................................           1,857,039          11,142,231
2022......................................               7               21  Yes................................           2,582,741          18,079,184
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* Active permits include any vessel with a Federal red crab permit (PLAN RCB, CAT A, B or C) which reported landings of red crab in the Federal dealer
  database. All permits were included in this analysis to protect data confidentiality.
Data sources: PERMIT, CAMS LAND and SSB's RFA dataset, accessed Oct 2023.

    There is no reason to expect that small entities will be adversely 
affected by the proposed action. The proposed action will affect these 
business entities and vessels in the red crab fishery, but it is not 
expected to have any impact on the gross or average revenues for the 
fishery because it does not change the total allowable landings, which 
is 4.409 million lb (2,000 mt). The proposed action is not expected to 
constrain landings markets for red crab substantially. Although total 
landings have increased recently, they remain at or below the total 
allowable landings limit, with market conditions driving landings more 
than this limit. Therefore, the proposed action is not expected to

[[Page 83895]]

constrain landings or markets for red crab and is not expected to have 
a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities.
    As a result, an initial regulatory flexibility analysis is not 
required and none has been prepared.
    This proposed rule contains no information collection requirements 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: November 28, 2023.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-26482 Filed 11-30-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P